Bristlecone Pines
anaglyph stereo photos require red/blue glasses
for 3D viewing

2,000 year old trees grace the White Mountains East of Bishop California.  The mountains are dolomite that were pressed into white marble millions of years before they were uplifted to 11,000 feet.  Snowcapped Sierras are off in the distance across a 7,000 foot deep valley .  The Bristlecones have new growth appear over "dead wood".   Growth in the high desert is slow in a place where an empty tin can will last more than a hundred years .   Moisture is sparse as the Sierras scrape water from the Pacific air. These photos were taken in early October 2002 by John Toeppen.